It appears that tablets are evolving as fast as the rest of the medical gear used to combat Ebola. A new tablet device has been developed to help doctors fight the virus and this model can withstand being sprayed with chlorine, a process that would usually damage devices.
The product was designed by technology volunteers and Google and it can be used while wearing gloves and during storms and high humidity. Medecins Sans Frontieres calls this an Ebola-proof tablet, that will help teams record essential patient information. At some point during contamination the doctors had to shout patient notes across fences to avoid contamination.
Ebola is passed through close contact with bodily fluids, so everything has to be sterilized. The tablet has a waterproof casing at an “industrial level” and it can be dunked in 0.5% chlorine solution that kills Ebola, so strong it could cause chemical burns on skin. Sharp edges of the device were removed, so it won’t pierce protective clothing it also charges quickly and wirelessly.
The device is being used at the MSF treatment centers in Sierra Leone and shows how technology can aid doctors in such perilous situations.
